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Dabgachi fauna
Dabgach is home to a wide range of fauna not found elsewhere in the world of Telluria. Some of the creature listed below may well be only legendary but are included here for completeness' sake. Cangui The demonic silkworm spirit announces its approach when richly-scented mulberry leaves appear, fluttering in the wind despite the lack of any trees they might have come from, forming out of twisted shapes in the darkness. A musky scent and a hissing sound heralds the approach of a sinuous worm-like creature. Its ability to manipulate the mind of its prey makes it seem beautiful and the mental voice is impossibly melodious. Those who abandon themselves to its ecstatic aura will lapse into warm, restless sleep. Upon awakening, the victim finds him or herself wrapped in silky smooth folds which soon become dry and brittle and can be easily broken. Such a victim will have become a host of the cangui; while it grows, the cangui confers some protection from magic and can induce drowsiness in those that threaten the host but it steadily devours the host’s lifeforce and converts him or her into another cangui. If the cangui larva can be successful expelled with magic, the host will vomit up a stubby white caterpillar which can be easily destroyed. Those who successfully resist the first appearance of the cangui, see the human-high, glowing segmented worm for what it is, hundreds of tiny legs in rows across its underbelly and a stunning shriek ringing in the mind of the would-be victim. If defeated, the spongy flesh of the cangue peels away until all that is left is the emaciated body of the previous host. Chonggui This little-known insectoid demon lurks within human bodies and operates in a way similar to the cangui. Cressent The cressent is a bald, baboon-like creature with two tails, an alarmingly human face and a rudimentary level of intelligence. They gather nuts, berries and edible leaves. They also delight in shiny precious stones and have an uncanny knack for finding them. They are often captured for display in the homes of the wealthy and their intelligence makes them loyal (if rather light-fingered) pets or servants if they are captured early enough. Dabgachi elk Despite its name, the Dabgachi elk is much more like a powerfully in appearance but with large, many-pronged antlers. Their rarity makes them prized among the rich and elite of society who use them to pull their carriages. Hac-quel-rat The hac-quel-rat is a very odd creature, about two feet wide and resembling a scaly spider. It has two large glossy black eyes and four fanged mouths from which is can eject viscous blobs to coat the jungle vines it lives among. The sticky fluid is a powerful paralytic poison and prey that fall victim to this are devoured at the hac-quel-rat’s leisure. Kreehul The kreehuls are humanoid, frog-like creatures that inhabit the Zushan Jungle. Their bright emerald eyes sit proud of their flat faces and spindly limbs support their large, warty torsos and heads. They emit deafening croaks from their fleshy throat-sacs. Although they do not use weapons they can attack in deadly numbers, trampling anything they see as a threat beneath their webbed feet. Mudworm The giant mudworms of Dabgach are blind vermiform monsters the size of an adult human. They lie submerged and covered with slime just below the surface of the water in the rice fields of the countryside. Peasants carry pronged spears that are ideally suited for fending off the beasts. Shael-Beast The shael-beast is a vaguely avian creature capable of limited, low-level flight. Its horned head and scrawny, clawed legs appear to be those of a ridiculously warped fowl. The shael-beast’s stomach is so bloated with buoyant gas that it resembles an inflated balloon; its thick, blubbery folds of skin quiver madly as it pounds its tiny wings to rise aloft. If its tough, leathery flesh is pierced, it releases a blast of fetid air and promptly shrivels up. Shael-beasts are solitary creatures who make their lairs in forest clearings. They dig pits, some 60 feet in circumference, and fill it with rubbish – animal bones, broken furniture, cartwheels, grain sacks, rotting food and other indescribable substances mixed together in a noxious brew above which hover clouds of flies and within which swim packs of purple leeches. A person coming into contact with a shael-beast or its lair will stink for days. Silverine The silverine is about the size of a domestic cat but has a snout and distinctly silver fur. The silverine is difficult to tame and naturally aggressive, delivering painful bites with its needle-like fangs. It can also inject a mild poison which causes the wound site to have a silvery sheen. Yuemo The so-called “fish men” of Dabgach are fierce opponents, with razor-sharp fins instead of hands. They lurk in mountain pools and streams and attack unwary passersby, able to change from water form to solid in an instant. Upon death they revert to liquid.